A Sorry Excuse
by SkullOfRoses
Summary: They were both a mess.
1. Chapter 1

Elizabeth shrugged on her backpack, dodged a crumpled up piece of paper that had been thrown at her back and start walking. She pulled up the hood of her hoodie. She loved these things; they hid your face from everyone and shielded you from any spitballs.

She walked outside and the fine rain hit her hands as she pulled a brown bag from her backpack. It wasn't until she settled beneath a large tree that she noticed there was a boy in it. He was lounging on one of the thicker branches, smoking with a casual indifference as if he didn't care about anyone noticing.

"Hi," Elizabeth said.

He raised a hand.

"Hey," he sighed, stretching as he looked down on her. His voice was rough from lack of use. "What the hell are you doing?"

She shrugged. "Eating. I can move, if you want."

"No. I don't give a shit."

She nodded and took a bite out of her sandwich, washing out the taste of potato bread with a sip of bottled water.

"In case you were wondering, my name is Elizabeth," she began, stretching her legs out and staring at the angry sky. "I just transferred here. I moved over the summer."

The boy landed next to her in a crouch. His eyes were wide and red; his dark circles were so deep she wondered if he ever slept. He smelled like smoke and weed.

"My name is Connor," he said leaning against the trunk and kicking at the grass. He hit a dandelion with the toe of his sneaker and the little seedlings went flying in all directions. "Why are you eating outside? It's raining."

She sighed.

"People always give me shit," she murmured, tucking a dark lock of hair behind her ear. "I don't know if it's the makeup, or because I don't talk much or because I'm the new kid but I think I've been called whore three times already."

Connor raised his middle finger at the school. "Fuck them," he decided. "They all suck. I hate them too. I guess that means I hate you as well, bitch."

Slightly startled, Elizabeth looked up with surprise as Connor smirked at her.

"If you can call me bitch, can I call you bastard?" She asked, holding in laughter.

Obviously unaccustomed to being talked back to, Connor guffawed and slid down next to her, throwing his cigarette into the grass where it hissed and died.

Spotting his hands (pale, soft, nails chewed at the edges but still salvageable) she withdrew a bottle of black nail polish from her bag. "Ever tried it?" She wondered.

"Of course I have." He snorted. "It was hard as shit, though. I kept smudging it! Stupid stuff."

"I can put it on for you," Elizabeth said eagerly, and he glanced over at her with a raised brow. "I really like makeup and stuff like this."

He poked one of her freckles, which was very visible.

"I don't see any," he announced, flicking her forehead and sitting back.

"Well, everyone always made up rumors that I was a prostitute." She shook her head, mourning the fact that everyone on the planet was an asshole.

He shrugged and gave her his hand. She dived upon it eagerly.

"The key to a smooth coat is long brush strokes," she said, wiping off the excess polish on the lip of the bottle before painting. "And a steady hand helps, of course."

While she rambled on, Connor tried to remember the last time someone had held his hand. Not for the last few years, course. He had done a fine job of pushing family away.

Once upon a happier time, his sister had pulled him along when they were playing. They were both too young to realize that they shouldn't like each other and she had been explaining that the sun was yellow because it made people happy.

 _"I don't know if that's true, Zoe," Connor had said._

 _"Everything I say is true, Con."_

He was snapped out of his reverie by her blowing on his fingernails.

"It'll dry faster like this," she explained, rolling her eyes when he made a risqué joke. "Can you try to be mature?"

He held his hands up.

"You did a good job, I guess," he said, inspecting his fingers.

"Fuck them up and I'll kill you."

The rain started then, heavy and loud. Elizabeth gathered up her trash and stood.

"I'll be going now." She smiled. "Nice to meet you, Connor. Thank you for keeping me company."

He couldn't raise a hand, (too busy protecting his nails from the rain) but he raised a foot.

Then she was gone and Connor was alone again.

He didn't know how to feel about that.


	2. Chapter 2

"You know the new girl?"

Connor scrolled through the tabs on his phone, ignoring the two idiots talking over by the lockers.

"Yeah, she's okay. Why'd you mention her?"

"She sits alone at lunch. I'm going to sit next to her, chat her up. You never know who's good in bed until you _do it_ , you know?"

Conner tensed and watched as the two boys walked away. They were two of the school's bullies, A+ assholes. Connor usually made a point to avoid them, but...he looked down at his nails, turned them this way and that in the florescent lighting. The boy sighed. Guess he had to protect her now.

* * *

Elizabeth looked up when someone slid into the seat across from hers. Connor's eyes were red and it seemed like his face had become even more sunken than the last time she had spoken with him. She pushed her bag of chips over to him.

"What are you doing?" She asked, pretending she didn't smell the smoke on his shirt. "I thought you usually hung around outside during lunch."

He shrugged, looked up from his phone for a moment. "It's none of your business."

His face was like that of a statue; carved into a permanent expression of unhappiness. Elizabeth could understand that sort of sorrow, the kind that soaked into your blood stream like ice water, making you sluggish and depressed.

Deciding she didn't have the strength to care, Elizabeth went back to her food.

Connor heard the footsteps and knew he was here. He tensed almost imperceptibly, glaring from behind a curtain of hair as Bobby Browne sat next to her.

Bobby smiled sleazily at her. "Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out this Sunday."

She scowled at the table. Elizabeth knew he could break every bone in her body if she pissed him off, and she definitely didn't need an enemy this soon in the school year. _Maybe if I just ignore him..._

The boy wrapped his arm around her shoulders, causing the girl to flinch.

Very slowly, Connor set down his phone.

"No," he hissed, and both teens looked over at him. "She already made plans with me."

A complete and utter lie, of course.

"Wait, are you-" the asshole looked between the two, narrowing his eyes. "God, gross! You should have told me you were sleeping with him!"

Bobby left in disgust, and Elizabeth looked at Connor with a grateful (if somewhat horrified) expression.

"Thank you," she said, a little incredulous.

"Don't mention it, Liz," Connor replied smoothly, absentmindedly taking a potato chip as he went back to his Smartphone.

* * *

 **A/N: I would be lying if I said Bobby wasn't inspired by Kurt and Ram (Speaking of good musicals, eh?). Anyway, you all swayed me to continue this fic (I also _really_ like writing this T-T). Enjoy!**


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